A versatile player, he has played in three positions: scrum half (his preferred role), fly-half and centre.

Richards moved to Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire for sixth form and played alongside Jonny Wilkinson reaching the Daily Mail Semi-final in 1996.

Richards quickly made his first team debut for London Irish against Leicester Tigers before joining Harlequins for the 1999–2000 season.

[7] He angered head coach Clive Woodward by going to nightclubs in Sydney and Auckland, which had a detrimental result on his performance during training sessions.

[13] He was picked for the 2008 Six Nations Championship but was then ruled out of the whole tournament after tearing a biceps muscle while playing for London Irish against Benetton Treviso.